Apparatus for closing filled bags



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 8, 1923 HDELMER M 5/1755 @5 WW, 0% b- Jan.3, 1928;

A. M. BATES APPARATUS FOR CLOSING FILLED BAGS Filed Nov. 8, 1923 4Sheets-Sheet 2 m "'illHiMllllW A 5 05mm M 5/7753 atfozuu s Jan. 3, 1928.

A. M. BATES APPARATUS FOR CLOSING FILLED BAGS F'iled' NOV. 8, 1925 4Sheets-Sheet 3 gyvuwrdoz HDELMER M. BHTES 3% am, 9% 7 6M 4 Sheets-Sheet4 E ME -A. M. BATES APPARATUS FOR CLOSING FILLED BAGS Filed Nov. 8, 1923Jan. 3, 1928.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADELMER M. BATES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO BATES VALVE BAG-COM: PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

APPARATUS FOR CLOSING FILLED BAGS.

Application filed November 8, 1923. Serial No. 673,481.

My invention relates to apparatus for closing filled bags, and moreparticularly it relates to' an apparatus in which a series of bags areconveyed in properly spaced relation beneath the closing mechanism whichcloses their ends in succession. More specifically, it relates toso-conveying filledbags beneath apparatus'which applies a reinforcingstrip along each side of their open mouths, sews'a continuous seamthrough the mouths and reinforcing strips, and trims the bag wallsparallel wit'h the seam.

The successive bags' so closed are connected by the reinforcing stripsand the chain of thread, and myf-invention'ffurther relates to apparatusfor-cutting this connection, .and for delivering the closed separatedbags from the mechanism.

One of the principal objects of my invention is to produce a conveyorthat will automatically space the bags roper distances apart so that theamount 0 reinforcing material and" thread between successive bags willbe uniformly the minimum consistent with convenient operation of theapparatus.

Another object of my invention is to produce an apparatus which willclosebags and leave their closed ends 'uniform""a1id heat in appearance.

Another object is to their bottoms downf Other features of the apparatusand objects of the invention will appearas the' description proceeds.

Apparatus embodying my invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which Fig. 1 is a sectional View of the delivery end of theapparatus, taken substantially along the line 11 of Fig. 3. Fi 2 is asimilar view of the receiving end of the apparatus, taken substantiallyalong the line 22 on Fig. 4. Fig. 3 is a plan view, with parts brokenaway, of the delivery end of deliver-1th: bags with the apparatus, whileFig. 4 is a plain view,-

3. Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a modlfied form of theapparatus. Figs. 10 and 11 are detail views of the structure of thechain and carriers used in the form of apparatus shown in Fig. 9. Fig.12 shows an alternative form of chain. Fig. 13 is a detail view ofaportion of the sewing head, showlng tape guides and trimming knife.

Frame members 20 and 21 are provided at the receiving end of theapparatus, and are held in upright spaced parallel relation bycross-bars 23. Similar frame members 24 and 25 at the delivery end ofthe apparatus are connected by cross-members 26. The frame members 20and 24 are connected by a side plate 27 and members 21 and 25 areconnected by -a similar side plate 28. A shaft 29 is mounted in theframe members 20 and 21, and it carries sprocket wheels 30 and 31.

A shaft 32 ismounted in frame members 24 and 25 parallel with the shaft29, and carries sprocket wheels 33, and shaft 34 is mounted in the framemembers 24 and 25 directly beneath the shaft 32 and carries sprocketwheels 35. A chain 36 passes over the sprocket wheel 30 on shaft 29 andover the aligning sprocket wheels 33 and 35, while a parallel chain 37passes over sprocket wheel 31 and the aligning sprocket wheels 33 and35. Side plate 27 carries at its upper edge a guidway 38 for the chain36, and side plate .28 carries a similar guideway'39 for the chain 27. Ashaft 40 is mounted in the frame members 24 and 25 and carries sprockets41 which maintain the chains horizontal on their' return movement fromsprocket wheels 35. v A shaft 42 is suspended from the side members 27and 28 and carries sprockets 43 over which the chains run on theirreturn passage from sprockets 41 to sprockets 30 and 31. The chains 36and 37 are connected by pusher bars 44.

A motor 45 carries a pulley 46, driving a belt 47, passing over a pulley48 on a shaft 49, supported by and parallel with the side members 27 and28. An inclined shaft 50 is connected by a universal joint 51 to theshaft 49 and by a universal joint 52 to a shaft 53 carrying a worm 54.The shaft 53 is mounted in a housing 55, supported on one of the crosspieces 26, and within the housing isa worm wheel 46, driven by the worm54 and mounted on shaft 47 On the end of the shaft 47 is a sprocketwheel 48', which 8 drives a sprocket chain 49, passing over a sprocketwheel 50' on the shaft 34. By these connections the chains 36 and 37,with their pusher bars 44, are driven from the motor 45.

Between the side pieces 27 and 28 there is a bottom slide plate 51,supported on cross pieces 52. The cross piece 52' at the delivery end ofthe slide plate 51 carries a lug 53', upon which a roller chute 54' ispivoted at 55. A bell crank 56 is fulcrumed at 57 and has one arm 58supporting the end of the roller chute 54 while the other arm 59 has apart sliding in a slot'60, so that it may be held in adjusted positionby clamping said part in the desired position in the slot, and therebythe delivery end of the roller chute may be raised or lowered asdesired.

The frame members 24 and 25 are cut away at 61, and a chute 62 ismounted to receive the filled bags 63 from the roller chute and deliverthem through one of the side openings 61. Filled open-mouthed bags 63are placed upon the slide plate 51' between the pusher bars 44 near thereceiving end of the apparatus, and as each bag is shoved along by itsrespective pusher bar they are evenly spaced apart. The mouths arebrought together at 64 and passed through a sewing machine 65, whichapplies reinforcing tape to the sides and. sews through the tape andbags.

The bag mouths are trimmed ofl', preferably by a trimmer working inconjunction with the sewing machine. A suitable sewing and trimming headis disclosed in my co-pending application Ser. No. 616,372, for sewing,severing and seam reinforcing machine, filed Feb. 1, 1923, and itsspecific construction forms no part of my present invention, andtherefore need not be described in detail. However, Fig. 13 shows tapeguides 651 and 652 adapted to guide reinforcing tape against the sidesof the bag in position to be sewed by needle 653, and a trimmer knife654 suitable for trimming off the tops of the bags.

The sewing head driving means may be connected to the conveyor forpurposes'of or lowered as desired with respect to the conveyor,'toposition it properly for closing the mouths of different lengths of bagsor:

p the conveyor. Y

The bags leave the sewing head connected together by sewed togetherreinforcing tapes, as at 66. Upon a fixed pivot 67, immediately over thepath of theclosed bags, there are mounted two co-operating cutter Thesewing'head may be member constitutes a straight pusher bar 76.

The upper portion of this pusher bar is notched at 77 and when theconnecting tape is positioned over the pusher bar, as it is at 'thesevering point, the points of the knives 68 enter the groove 77 andinsure the complete severance of the tape. The points of the knivesclose before the upper parts, so that the tape will never be crowdeddown below the knives. The chain 37 carries a projection 78 in properrelation to each pusher bar, so that as the projection 78 passes overthe arm 79 of a switch member 80 it will raise that member so as tocontact the member 81 and close the circuit through the solenoid,thereby actuating the cutting members. The contacts of the switch arepreferably protected by a housing 82.

Spring plates 84 and 85 are mounted on the frame members 24 and 25 inposition to contact the front side of the bag that is in position tohave its connecting tape cut. These plates prevent the bag from runningforward too far and pulling the tape over the pusher bar so far that thefollowing bag will be cut in the severing operation. If there is aslight excess of tape, as might result from a slightly excessive speedof the sewing machine, the tape will bend up over the pusher bar, butwill still be between the knives so that it will be correct-1y severed.The spring plates 84 and 85 also retard the tops of the bags so thattheir bottoms wih strike the chute 62 first, and the bags will bedischarged bottom first.

A shaft 86 is mounted in bearings 87 supported from the side plates 27and 28. A gear 88 on the end of shaft 86 meshes with a gear 89 on theshaft 49. A series of cross pieces 90 are connected by links 91 toeccentrics 92 on the shaft 86. Jigging members 93 are mounted on thecross pieces 90 and pass through slots 94 in the slide plate 51'.

The ends of the jigging members 93 are .bev-

eled, as at 95, to avoid puncturing the bags 96 may be provided betweenthe jigging members 93 so as to keep them in proper position, or thesame result may be obtained by the use of brackets 97, shown in Fig. 7,mounted on the side plates 27 and .28 and contacting the ends of bars 90and keeping them in the proper plane.

If desired, the delivery end of the apparatus may be modified as shownin Fig. 9. In that modification there is provided a framelOO in place ofthe frame members 24 and 25. Sprocket wheels 101 and 102 are by sharpcorners. As shown in Fig. 6, bars of the pusher bars, the chains carrycu s,or

lin

supports 105, in each of which a fille bag may-be supported. A motor 106carries a pulley 107, driving a belt 108, passing over pulley'109 uponthe shaft 110. The end of the shaft 110 carries a gear 111, driving achain 112 which passes over a sprocket wheel 113 on shaft 114, which inturn drives Worm wheel 115 and, by a sprocket wheel not shown, chain116, which passes over sprocket Wheel 117 on the shaft 104 and drivesthe carrier chain. 1

A table 120 is provided to receive th closed bags, and the delivery endof the apparatus is high enough to discharge the bags 'upon the tablefrom which they may be conveniently taken for packing. A guide 121 maybe provided, if desired, to guide the bags onto the table.

As shown in Fig. 7 the jigger members may be driven directly from thedrive shaft 110, if desired, in this form of the apparatus.

I prefer to form the carrier members 105 with bottom slots 122 forreceiving the jigging members.

The chain is formed of pivots and regular links and special linksinterchangeable with the regular links and having ears to which the bars44 may be fastened by bolts or rivets 126. Carriers 105 have lugs 127for attachment to the special links. The bars or carriers may beproperly spaced by inserting the special links at .the desired points.If the desired distance between bags requires a number of links whichdoes not go evenly into the entire length of the chain, the extra linksare divided up, one to a space, so that no space is more than one linklonger than desired. I

Where adjustments are made frequently for different sizes of bags, it isadvisable to make all links special, so that the bars or carriers may beattached to whatever links are chosen without disturbing the links. InFi 12 a chain 37 is shown in which every is special. Where many bags ofthe same size are to be closed, a more exact adjustment may be obtainedby making the bars or carriers adjustable as to the lugs, as by means ofthe slots 128 shown on Fig. 12.

The slots are shown of sufficient length so they allow adjustment thefull length of a link so that there is no place on the chain at which aspacer may not be positioned. In this way the entire length of the chainmay be divided exactly into any number of spaces and if desired thelength of the chain might be increased or diminished by taking out orputting in a link or two, the idlers over which the chain runs in itsreturn movement being suitably adjusted. In .this way the spaces betweensuccessive pushers or carriers may be adjusted with anydegree ofexactness which circumstances render advisable.

The roller chute 54' is shown as composed of overlapping rollers so asto present a practically continuous antifriction surface, and is likethe roller support disclosed in my application identified above; thatis, a series of parallel transverse rods carry the rollers, the rollerson each rod being staggered with relation to those on the adjacent rods,and the circumference of each roller extending into. close proximity tothe adjacent rods. Any other suitable form of chute may be used ifdesired.

The operation of the apparatus will be apparent from the foregoingdescription, but may be briefly summed up as follows:

The receiving end of the apparatus is made sufliciently long so thatbags may be taken from a number of filling points, if desired, andplaced upon the slide plate. It the bags are taken from a number ofstations and placed upon the slide plate, it should be the duty of theperson at the last loading sta tion to see that no vacant spaces areleft between the pusher bars, so that the bags will be fed forward in acontinuous series at properly spaced distances. As will be readily seen,the bags will contact the successive pusher bars as they are movedalong, without regard to their positions between the pusher bars whenthey are set on the slide plate, as they will not move along until theyare contacted by the pusher bars.

The same result is achieved with the carrier shown in Fig. 9, as thecups or boots are at uniform distances apart, so that the bags carriedthereby vwill be uniformly spaced. There are other ways in which thesame result may be achieved, as by providing a slide plate or chuteslanting downward, so that the ba s will slide forward against retardingmem ers instead of awaiting pushers; or belt carriers may be used havingstops thereon at regular intervals, and slanted either up or down sothat the bags will slide against the stops either behind or before them.While I prefer the disclosed arrangement of slide plate and pushers, thefundamental purpose of this feature of my invention is the presentationof a series of uniformly spaced bags to the closing means. This would beadvantageous, even if closing means, such as that disclosed in myapplication identified above, for example, Were placed beyondthe-spacing conveyor to receive the bags therefrom.

The nearer the pushers are to the slide plate at the receiving end, theless they interfere with the loading'operation.

The operator at the sewmg station brings the sides of the bags togetherand feeds them in succession into the sewing machine. After passing thesewing machine, the bags run down the roller chute until they contactspring plates 84 and 85, where they are checked until the tape issevered, when the bottoms will run off of the roller chute and land onthe delivery chute 62. In this way it is assured that the tape will lieloosely over the pusher bar at the time ofv severance and the cut willoccur between successive bags.

If the sewing machine ran slower than the conveyor, the cutting of thetape would have to be closely adjacent the machine to avoid having thetape pull backwards on the bag tops and forward on the, machine exces-.sively. With my arrangement, the sewing machine is run as fast as orslightly faster than the conveyor, so that the tape will allow the bagtops to remain the distance apart at which they are originally spaced bythe conveyor. In case the machine is run slightly faster than theconveyor, a trifle more tape is provided than is necessary to space thebags apart the required distance. The springs 84' and 85 hold backthebags so that the tape will not be drawn straight or taut over thepusher bar at the time of cutting, and it may curve more or less at thespace where it iscut, so as to provide for some variation in therespective speeds of the sewing machine and conveyor. In the form ofdevice shown in'Fig. 9, the cutter could be placed at the point wherethe conveyor bends upward, so as to tilt back the bag, and in this wayprovision could be made for properly positioning the tape for cuttingwhether the machine ran slightly slower or faster than the carrier. Inneither case does the position of the bag at the time of cutting dependupon the pull of the tape behind it, and I prefer to have the tapesome-what slack, so that slight variation in synchronization may betaken care of in that way.

While I prefer to have'the cutter switch directly controlled by theconveyor, it is obvious that a cutter controlled by the passage of thebag could be used with the other fea tures of my apparatus.

The discharge end of the roller chute may be quickly raised or loweredfor bags of different types, so that considerable variation in the sizeof the ba s may be made with little adjustment in th?) apparatus, but

cessive portions of a' continuous cord or twine, uniform spacing of thebags would result in saving twine; and a similar result would occur withany continuous closure forming element. Still the advantage ofcontinuous actuation at uniform speed is especially great with a sewingmachine, which operates more satisfactorily and with less breakage ofthread when it can be operated at a comparatively low uniform continuousspeed than when it is run at a high speed to close a bag, or two orthree bags, and then stopped. Where the bags are fed in a uniformlyspaced continuous series to the machine so that the sewing machine maybe run continuously at uniform speed, the speed of the machine does nothave to be excessive in order to sew an immense number of bags within aworking day.

By the arrangement of jigging apparatus herein disclosed the material isWell settled in the bags without the loss of any time for this operationand without interfering in any way with the closing operation.

It will be evident that the specific con struotion of various elementsherein disclosed may be widely varied while retaining the fundamentalprinciples of the combination; and while the best results may beattained by the use of the complete combinatlon, various improvedelements are susceptible of use with advantage in other combinations.Therefore, I do not wish my disclosure to be taken as limiting the scopeof my lnyention beyond the terms of the appended claims.

' I \claim:'

1. In apparatus for closing the tops of filled bags, av bag conveyorincluding bag spac1ng means, and means for applying a reinforcing stripto bags on the conveyor and forming bag'closures with the aid ofthe'strip.

2. In apparatus for closing the tops of filled bags, a bag conveyorincluding bag spac ng means, means for applying a reinforcing strip tobags on the conveyor, and means for trimming the bag mouths parallelwith the strip.

3. The combination consisting of a conwhere there is too great variationin the ize v y r adapted to convey a. plurality of bags of bags thepositions of the pusher bars on the chains may be changed so that theywill be at the proper distances apart. It will be seen that inthismanner the bags are received at the sewing station at properly spacedintervals so-that the sewing appa ratus may work continuously and at aconstant speed without wasting reinforcing tape or seam-formingthread,It is obvious that the same principle might be applied with otherclosing means. If tape were not used, there would still be the saving insewing thread. If the bag tops were not sewed, but were tied by loopingaround them sucin succession past a" fixed point,a trimming devlceadapted to trim the walls of the bag mouths as they pass said point, afeeding device on each side of the path of the bag 1 months, adapted, tofeed a continuous strip .to the months, a sewing head in position tobags by a continuous closing element, and

means controlled by the spacing means for severing said element betweenthe bags.

5. In bag closing apparatus, a series of uniformly spaced members 'eachadapted to move a bag, a sewing head in operative relation to the topsof bags so moved, and means controlled by said members for severing thechain ofstitches between the bags. v

6. In bag closing apparatus, means to space a series of bags a uniformdistance apart, means to apply a continuous closureforming member to thebags so spaced, means for severing the member between the bags, andmeans including an electric switch for controlling the severing meansby, the

spacing means.

7. In bag closing apparatus, apparatus for closing a series of bags insuccession by a continuous closure-forming member, a conveyor adapted toconvey the bags in succession from the closing apparatus and dischargethem at a pointspaced the breadth of a pluralityof bags from the closingapparatus, and means adjacent the discharge Ipoint for severing themember between the ags.

8. In bag closing apparatus, a sewing head adapted to sewa continuousclosing seam through the tops of a series of bags, a downwardly slantingchutearranged to receive the bags with theirmouths connected by thechain of thread,fl.a' nd meansadjacent the discharge end of the} chutefor severing the chain of thread between the bags.

9. In bag closing apparatus, means for closing a series of bags with acontinuous closure forming member, means for conveying the bags fromsaid closing means, means for severing the member between the bags asthey are conveyed. and means for slacken ing said member at the point ofseverance.

10. In bag closing apparatus, a sewing head adapted to sew a continuousseam through the mouths of a succession of bags, means for conveying theclosed bags away from said head, means for severing the chain of threadbetween the bags as they are'conveyed, and means for retarding theclosed mouth of the bag that has passed the severing means, to slackenthe chain of thread at the severing point.

11. In bag closing apparatus, means for closing a series of bags with acontinuous closure-forming member, means for severing said memberbetween the closed bags, and a downwardly-inclined bag support betweenthe closing means and the severing means.

12. In .bag closing apparatus, an elongated bag support, evenly spacedbag pushers movable over said support from the receiving end to thedischarge end, means above the pushers for closing a series of bags witha continuous bag-closing member, and means above the pushers forsevering the member between bags, the pushers being nearerthe support atthe receiving end than at the severing point.

13. In bag closing apparatus, spacers adapted to evenly space anadvancing succession of bags, means for closing the bags with acontinuous closure-forming member, means to position the spacersimmediately beneath said member between closed bags, and severing meanscontrolled by the spacers for severing said member between the bags.

14. In bag closing apparatus, means for closing a succession of bagswith a continuous closure-forming member, a grooved guide, means toposition the guidewith its groove adjacent one side of the memberbetween adjacent closed bags, shears pivoted on the side of the memberopposite from the guide. and means for closing the shears with I thepoints of the shear blades in said groove.

15. In combination, apparatus for closing filled bags, a conveyoradapted to convey closed bags in upright position away from saidapparatus, and means to engage and retard the upper ends of successivebags and insure the delivery of the bags from the conveyor bottomsfirst.

16. In combination, apparatus for closing filled bags, a chute beneathsaid apparatus, and an endless series of pushers passing over and underthe chute, the delivery end of the chute being lowered and turned to oneside, so as to deliver the bags to one side of the pathof the pushers.

17. In combination, a chute, a pusher chain running over and under thechute, the chain being spaced apart farther vertically at the endtowards which its upper run travels, and chain-drivin the delivery endof t e chute dropping below the chain and turning to one side to deliverarticles to one side of the path of the chain.

18. In apparatus for closing filled bags, a slotted slide plate,bag-c1osing means over the plate, pushers adapted to push bags over theplate beneath the closing means, and

jigging bars reciprocating through the slots.

19., In apparatus for closing filled bags, a bag closing device, ajigging device, and a conveyor adapted to receive filled open mouthedbags and convey them successively over the jigger with their bottoms inoperative relation thereto and beneath the closing device with theirtops in operative relation thereto.

20. In apparatus for closing filled bags, a conveyor for filled bagsincluding a slotted support, a jigging device reciprocating through theslots in the support against the bottom of a bag thereon and means inoperative relation with the conveyor for closing the mouths of the bagsafter the material in the bags has been settled.

21. In bag closing apparatus, a device for means at said end,

' closing the tops of bags, a series of members bags in uprightposition, in spaced relation; and with the mouths of successive bagsfol- I lowing the same path, a device adjacent the path, for closing themouths successively with a continuous elosure-forming member, shearspivoted above the path of the member as it leaves the device, the bladesof the shears extending downward from the pivot on opposite sides of thepath of the member and the points of the blades curving towards eachother, and means operating the shears in timed relation with the passageof the bags, to sever the member be tween'successive bags.

23. In bag closing apparatus, means for conveying a series of spacedbags with the ends of successive bags following the same path, meansadjacent said path to apply an elongated closure-forming member to theends as they pass, shears pivoted adjacent a point in the path reachedby the bags after the member is applied thereto, the blades of theshears extending from the pivot to the two sides of the path of theelongated member and having their points curved towards each other, andmeans to close said ,shears in timed relation to the passa e of the bagsto sever the member between, ags. 24. In bag closing apparatus, meansfor conveying a series of spaced bags with the ends of successive bagsfollowing the same path, means adjacent said path to apply an elongatedclosure-forming member to the ends as they pass, shears pivoted adjacenta point in the path reached by the bags after the member is appliedthereto, the

blades of the shears extending from the pivot to the two sides of thepath of the elongated member and having their points curved towards eachother, means for retarding the closed mouth of the bag that has passedthe shears, and means to close said shears in timed relation to thepassage of the bags to sever the member between ba s.

in testimony whereof, I have this day signed my name to thisspecification.

ADELMER M. BATES;

